High-rise apartments aimed at the young and the urban

Updated 11:17 pm, Monday, March 11, 2013

Work has started on the 24-story SkyHouse apartment building downtown. An average unit will go for about $1,600 a month.

Work has started on the 24-story SkyHouse apartment building downtown. An average unit will go for about $1,600 a month.

High-rise apartments aimed at the young and the urban

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Developers have started work in the southern end of downtown on a high-rise apartment building designed to attract single renters in their 20s and 30s seeking an urban living experience.

The 24-story project, one of several like it around the country, will be called SkyHouse Houston. It will include 336 apartments, most of which will be one-bedrooms and studios. The average unit is expected to have about 800 square feet and rent for around $1,600 per month.

The $67 million development was announced late last year when the group behind the SkyHouse brand said it needed public assistance to build the project. The city awarded the group a tax abatement of $15,000 per unit as part of a program to drive residential development in the city center.

The development team, including Denver-based Simpson Housing, Atlanta-based Novare Group, Atlanta-based Baston-Cook Development Co. and Peter W. Dienna of Houston, said Monday it had received financing and that it closed on the land where work on the tower has started.

SkyHouse is being built on a full city block bounded by Main, Bell, Leeland and Fannin. The address is 1625 Main.

The companies said the project is expected to create 500 construction jobs and bring more than 400 residents to downtown.

There are other SkyHouse buildings in Atlanta, Orlando and Austin.

JPMorgan Chase is providing construction financing, and Simpson Housing, NGI Investments and Baston-Cook Development Co. are providing the equity.